Trolley-finder.



PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906.;

W J. HINTON. TROLLEY FINDER. APPLICATION FILED AUG.16, 1905.

' attoznu r O u U 3 UNITED sra rns PATENT oiuuoE.

W1LLIAM JASPER HINTON, or IDANVILLE, ILLINOIS.

TROLhEY-FSNDER.

T all whom, 211- Jncty concern/r Be it known that I, l/VILLIAM JASPER HIN- TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Danville, in the county of Vermilion and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Troll ey- Finders, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to trolleyfinders; and

its primary object is to provide a novel and highly-useful device of this character which may be applied to anyconstruction of trolleypole and which is so constructed that parts thereof may be replaced to obviate the necessity of supplying an entirely new fmder should any part of the finder in use become :broken and unfit for further service.

Nitlrthe above and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, claimed,, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherem ley-pole provided with a finder constructed in accordance with my invention, illustrating the manner in. which the trolley-wheel is guided into contact with the trolley by means of my improved finder. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detailed perspective view of the upper portion of the trolley-pole and a frag-- line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings by referencenumerals, 1 designates a trolley-pole, 2 a harp secured thereto, and 3 the trolley-i'vheel, j ournaled on the harp by means of a pintle 4, all being of the usual form and construction, except that the'ends of the pintle 4 pro ect laterally beyond the sides of the harp Elbow-bearing brackets 5 are provided with bearings 6, adapted to loosely receive the projected ends of the pintle 4, whereby the brackets.are journaled upon the harp 2. The elbow-bearing brackets 5 consist of arms 7 and 8, and the bearings d are positioned at the points of the union of said ari'ns. The

arms 7 are recessed, at S, for the recep- Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed August 16, 1905. Serial No. 274.4 4=4.

- apparent.

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a trol- Patented June 12, 1906.

broken. and distorted, and thereby rendered unfit for further use,-it can be quickly replaced by a new member in a manner that is This member is constructed from a single strand of wire or any suitable material and is bent intermediate its ends to provide two laterally-diverging arms 11, the connecting portion of which is positioned in alinenient with the groove of the trolley.- wheel 3. After the wire strand is bent to provide the arms 11 it is then bent in reverse direction downwardly in approximately parallel alinenient with the arms 11 to provide supporting-arms 12, which have their lower ends olfset, as at l3,-and positioned in the recesses S of the arms 7. The ends of the arms 8 are also recessed and adapted to receive the extremity of a yoke 14, said yoke being adapted to be removably secured to the arms 8 by means of threaded bolts 15, lClZillIOUgll the arms and engaging the ends of said yoke, whereby to permit the yoke to be removed and replaced should it become broken or distorted, and thus rendered unfit for further use. A cable 16 hasone of its ends secured to the yoke 14 and its other end disposed in convenient reach, whereby the trolley-pole 1 may be moved to withdraw the trolley-wheel 3 from contact with the trolley or to position the wire-engaging member to guide the trolleyw heel 3 into contact with the trolley.

The trolley-pole 1 is yieldingly supported by the usual spring, whereby to retain the trolley-wheel 3 in contact with the trolley. It often occurs that during the movement of the car the trolley-wheel will slip the trolley, and to assist in directing the trolley-wheel into contact with the trolley again I provide the finder just described, and the manncr in which the same acrmmplishcs tlic purpose For which it is intended may be l)l'l(ll\' stated as followst should the trollcv-n'hccl slip the trolley, the trolley-polo will assume a vyrtical position, and to move the pole so as to bring the trolley-wheel bcncath the trolley the cable 16 isbrought into nsc. During this downward movement o'l- [hc trollc \'polc the yoke H and diverging arms 1'. will prevent the trolley-wheel from coming into contact trolley.

' the advantages thereof.

with the trolley. After the trolley-wheel is positioned beneath the trolley the wire-en- -.gaging member is moved so as to position the trolley between the guide-arms 11, and upon the releasing of the cable 16 the normal tendency, of the trolley-pole to assume a vertical position will cause the trolley-wheel to move upward; Through virtue of the wire-engagmg member said trolley-wheel will be guided m,

into engagement with the trolley, after which the finder will assume the position illustrated 3, whereby the wire-engaging member is held in such position as not to form an obstructionthat is, it will not engage the cross-wires usually used for supporting the Changes in the form, proportions, and

minor details of construction may be made Within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of brackets journaled upon the trolley-pole and having their ends provided with recesses, a

wire-engaging member detachably having its ends fitting in two of said recesses and a yoke having its ends fitting in the other two of said recesses, and bolts carried by the arms and engaging the ends of the. wire-engaging member and yoke to removably secure them to the brackets.

In testiniony yzhereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM JASPER HINTON.

Witnesses OSCAR DRAPER, DENNIS OLEHY. 

